A typical vehicle includes a driver airbag and the passenger airbag. Each of these airbags should be designed to protect occupants of varying sizes. An airbag designed to inflate at a relatively high pressure may be adequate to protect a large-size occupant in a frontal crash however the same airbag may not provide optimum protection for the smaller sized occupant. One method of designing a smart-airbag is to include a vent mechanism within the structure of the airbag. This vent for example is configured to remain closed so that the airbag can achieve its higher designed pressure to protect the large-sized occupant. The vent is also configured to be open enabling the inflation gas to escape thereby lowering the internal pressure of the airbag to more optimally protect the small-sized occupant. Some controllable vents are configured to initially be open and then moved to a closed position.
To effectuate vent control, airbags employ vent control mechanisms which include rope, wire, string, plastic strips or even convention fabric tethers with looped ends affixed to a retractable pin. Collectively, these rope, wire, string, plastic strips, or conventional fabric tethers are referred to as vent connectors. The retractable pin assemblies, one of which is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 9,776,591, can be solenoids that actuate on an electrical signal or pyrotechnic devices actuated by a sensor to fire a squib or actuator to discharge gases to move a piston causing the pin to retract and release the held looped end of the tether or vent connector. Often, the vent connector is partially located inside the folded airbag cushion inside the airbag module. These sensor activated pin puller release mechanisms are extremely reliable.
The airbag is adjustably controlled by the one or more vent connectors which are generally folded as the airbag cushion is folded. The folded cushion is then compactly placed in a container or module assembly for installation into a vehicle. The module assembly generally has a housing structure with a defined cavity or receiving chamber to hold the folded cushion. The module assembly further can employ a top cover or panel to encase the folded cushion. Prior art FIG. 1 shows a generic airbag with a conventional tethered vent coupled to a pin puller mechanism located exterior of the airbag. Typically, the pin puller mechanism is secured to a housing of an air bag module. In prior art FIG. 1A, the tether is shown released from the pin puller
Often the size of the uninflated folded airbag cushion is larger than the receiving chamber of the housing structure, and in fact the folded cushion must be tightly tucked into the module housing with the top cover squeezing and packing the folded cushion inside the assembly. When this occurs, the vent connector can be entangled or caught on an object such that the airbag inflation can be altered and control of the vent delayed.
The present invention as described hereinafter provides a unique way to accommodate tightly packed airbag cushions while insuring the vent connector cannot become entangled on deployment.